Resolving (the majority of) Issues with Alexa on Sonos

This thread is intended to help get you going if you get stuck setting up Alexa with Sonos, or if you have run into any errors. The setup process does use two different apps, so don’t stress if you’re having trouble, we can help.

If you are reading this thread, you will now be aware that integrating the two platforms requires several authentication steps which require you to move between applications and interfaces, providing login details and authorising services along the way.Simply put: It involves some moving back and forth, providing information as you go.

The issues this post may help you resolve include but are not limited to: - "Your Spotify account does not support streaming on this device." - Radio stations not playing when you ask them to. - Asking for something to play- whether this is acknowledged or not- only to be met with silence.

It is worth noting, however, that several of your desired functions may simply not be available on Alexa via Sonos just yet. We have articles that describe exactly what services to expect at this time.Visit this link for the UK or this one for the US.

Is your desired functionality available? Then let's move on to fixing your issue.

If you get to a point where you're not able to complete a step, just skip to the next section.

1. In the Alexa app, go to the Sonos skill, go to Settings > Manage Smart Home Devices > Tap 'Forget All'. Note: The step to 'Forget All' will delete all actions in all Routines within an Alexa set-up.

2. Go to Alexa's UK site or Alexa's US site (again, depending on your region).Please do this in a web browser on a computer (PC or Mac).It's also best to do this using private browsing or incognito mode to avoid using cached information.

Go to Settings. Click on your Sonos One in the list of devices. It will probably be listed both as '(your name)'s Sonos One' and whatever room name you gave it in Sonos. It's the '(your name)'s Sonos One we're looking for. On this page, click on 'deregister' and confirm that.

If on this page you do not see your Sonos One already set up, then it's probably linked to a different account somehow. In this case you can skip the rest of the troubleshooting. Just add the Sonos skill on this website, then follow the prompts.

3. Make sure you know your Amazon account password, and then log out of your Amazon account everywhere. Log out of the Alexa app, log out on your web browser, log out on the shopping app, the music app.

4. Delete all your Amazon apps, including the Alexa app, and then just install the Alexa app.

5. Add the Sonos One back to the system in the Sonos app, via Settings -> Add a Player or SUB. Follow the prompts to set up voice services which will require you log in to your Sonos account, and then your Amazon account, to link them together. You'll also need to enable the Sonos skill in the Alexa app at this point.

6. If that's all worked you should hear the Sonos One say "Hello". Try asking it to play something like a radio station (Radio by TuneIn is enabled by default) and see if that works.

Is there a way to not silence all Sonos speakers when Alexa is active? We have Sonos speakers throughout the house (two stories). We have two echo dots (one on the first floor, one on the second floor). Every time someone makes a request to Alexa, all of the Sonos speakers go silent. This is annoying when someone is listening to music on the second floor, for example, and someone is asking a question on the first floor. Ideally only the speakers near the Echo dot would go silent. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Regards my commands going to the wrong system I thought I needed to be on the same network / WiFi to operate the respective systems?

Not for voice command but yes for the App.

I think my issue revolves around the 2 accounts as suggested by Ken but I might be wrong, I am no expert.
Thanks again.

Yes, I expect so. To run multiple Sonos locations you need two Sonos accounts and the relationship between your Sonos Account and your Amazon account must be a 1:1, so you'll need two Amazon accounts.
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So this probably explains why the one Sonos Play 1 device I have installed in my works office (completely different network) cannot be recognised when I try scanning for devices. I am loathe to "delete all skills" as it has taken so long to get the home Sonos network functioning properly (I think) with Alexa, that to throw it all away and to have to go through the pain again is not something I am willing to endure. I now simply control my Play 1 in my works office using the App on my desktop PC. I have no desire to have duplicate accounts for Sonos/Amazon etc. :(

EDIT: Just mulling further on this .... If I were to plug the works office Play 1 into the LAN and then re-scan for devices from my desktop PC App, would this give me a better chance of success for it being found? I have tried scanning for it from the Alexa App on my iphone which is on the same office wi-fi network as the Play 1 itself?

As long as you only use a specific controller on one system then you should be okay.

Regards my commands going to the wrong system I thought I needed to be on the same network / WiFi to operate the respective systems?

Not for voice command but yes for the App.

I think my issue revolves around the 2 accounts as suggested by Ken but I might be wrong, I am no expert.
Thanks again.

Yes, I expect so. To run multiple Sonos locations you need two Sonos accounts and the relationship between your Sonos Account and your Amazon account must be a 1:1, so you'll need two Amazon accounts.
********************************************
So this probably explains why the one Sonos Play 1 device I have installed in my works office (completely different network) cannot be recognised when I try scanning for devices. I am loathe to "delete all skills" as it has taken so long to get the home Sonos network functioning properly (I think) with Alexa, that to throw it all away and to have to go through the pain again is not something I am willing to endure. I now simply control my Play 1 in my works office using the App on my desktop PC. I have no desire to have duplicate accounts for Sonos/Amazon etc. :(

EDIT: Just mulling further on this .... If I were to plug the works office Play 1 into the LAN and then re-scan for devices from my desktop PC App, would this give me a better chance of success for it being found? I have tried scanning for it from the Alexa App on my iphone which is on the same office wi-fi network as the Play 1 itself?

Great, this worked with my Sonos One. It would respond to the Alexa wake up word, but little else. Only limited testing so far, but seems to be working properly. Went through the factory reset and App delete sequence. Many thanks.

One other simple thing to check is that the small white round light is showing on the top of the Sonos One. If not, then the Mic has been turned off by accident, (Easy to do when cleaning) just touch the mic symbol to turn back on. :)

This should be the FIRST thing to check in the troubleshooting list for a non-responsive Alexa scenario.

I have noticed a major downgrade in alex on sonos understanding me. For the first month or so it was almost perfect. 99% of the time it did exactly what I wanted it to do. Not sure what happened but now it will understand my commands about 30% of the time. especially in my kids room. Some times it even says it can not find the device (light) or there is another device using that name, or device does not support this. When I go to the alexa app it shows it got my voice 100% correct. Other times it just can not understand the device name I am saying. (when before it had 0 issues). Sonos and Amazon need to fix this its driving me crazy and making alexa on sonos useless.

Exactly the same for me....if I turn off the Sonos speakers at the wall and then turn them back on again I get the following message Alexa says "hmm, ensure that the sonos skill is enabled in the alexa app, then say discover devices."

However, if I leave the speakers on for something like 12 hours then the voice commands return???

Hi

If you are willing to switch off your Sonos One again, can you please open the Alexa App>Settings and confirm if the device is shown as 'Online'. I suspect that this could be connectivity issue, how far away from your router is the Sonos One located?

Exactly the same for me....if I turn off the Sonos speakers at the wall and then turn them back on again I get the following message Alexa says "hmm, ensure that the sonos skill is enabled in the alexa app, then say discover devices."

However, if I leave the speakers on for something like 12 hours then the voice commands return???

Now....I looked at the Sonos App/settings/advanced/control from other devices. It was ticked...but I toggled it off, then back on. Then things worked consistently! If it still works tomorrow, a virtual beer for you ?. Thanks for your assistance so far...... I'll tell you tomorrow. Have a nice evening Ken, wherever you are !

Weeelll, it worked, but only once. 'Alex stop kitchen' silenced it. 'Alexa play (anything) in kitchen' = Silence. But the Play:5 in the dining room responds and works as one might expect.
The Play:1 does emit music from the Sonos app. I just noticed after saying 'Alexa play radio 4 in Kitchen' (Dot then says playing on Kitchen) but silence happens - if I go to the Sonos App, the Kitchen Sonos says 'started from Alexa' and I need to press to make the sound emit, and then stops it. It's like the Sonos App has retained the control over that.
Soooo.....?
Strange it worked the one time, did you restart the router and speakers? I’m just wondering if it’s a network issue? What happens if you plug the Sonos One onto your router, does it work then every single time or not ?

Weeelll, it worked, but only once. 'Alex stop kitchen' silenced it. 'Alexa play (anything) in kitchen' = Silence. But the Play:5 in the dining room responds and works as one might expect.
The Play:1 does emit music from the Sonos app. I just noticed after saying 'Alexa play radio 4 in Kitchen' (Dot then says playing on Kitchen) but silence happens - if I go to the Sonos App, the Kitchen Sonos says 'started from Alexa' and I need to press to make the sound emit, and then stops it. It's like the Sonos App has retained the control over that.
Soooo.....?

Go to your Alexa App ... remove the sonos devices in the smart-home section (Devices Tab) .. then goto skills and remove the Sonos Skill. Give it a minute or so. Now restart your Router and the two Sonos devices. Wait till they are booted and both speakers are back online and appearing in your Sonos App.

Now reinstall the sonos Skill in the Alexa App, logging into both your Sonos Account and your Amazon Account and accepting the sharing agreement.

As the Sonos Skill install finishes, it will prompt you to scan for devices .. during the scan it should find both your Play: 1, called Kitchen and your Play 5 Room too.

When the Alexa scan has finished try the voice command again “Alexa play music in the kitchen”.

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Hi. It's a Play:1
The speaker is named by the Sonos App (as a location) 'Kitchen' . I asked the Echo Dot to discover devices via the Sonos Skill in the Alexa App, and it's discovered as 'Kitchen'. The Sonos Play:5 I have in another room always works - but I don't want to listen on that!
Any help??? Just for clarification do you have any other devices named kitchen? Like an echo dot for example? If not try this ... “Alexa, play some music in the Kitchen” ... make sure your speaker isn’t muted (with 'x' showing on volume slider) and the volume is turned up enough for you to hear it.

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Hi. It's a Play:1
The speaker is named by the Sonos App (as a location) 'Kitchen' . I asked the Echo Dot to discover devices via the Sonos Skill in the Alexa App, and it's discovered as 'Kitchen'. The Sonos Play:5 I have in another room always works - but I don't want to listen on that!
Any help???

My problem is (like many) the Echo dot says 'playing on Kitchen' (Sonos:1) and no sound comes from there. The Play5 in another room always works when told to do so. Have tried *everything * suggested, and I'm tired of two 'proper' companies (this isn't a cheap gizmo from China with some half baked App to control it) saying this works when clearly there's a serious issue with compatability. I may just by an Echo with a speaker and ditch my Sonos Play:1 I'm so p**sed by this :-(
I would not be able to recommend Sonos in future. Very sad customer.
Are you using a 'Sonos One', or a Play:1 Speaker here ? ...and is the speaker uniquely named for Alexa purposes or does it have the same name as your echo dot device?

I did all the steps above. Still does not work. I have Spotify enabled as my Default Music Service. Like everybody else: I say, "Play Legs by ZZ Top". Alexa replies, "OK, playing Legs by ZZ Top on Spotify". Then it doesn't play anything. I submitted Diagnostic Code: 644701571
What device are you asking Alexa to Play your music to here? Is it a 'Sonos One' you are using? or are you using an Amazon Echo device?

I did all the steps above. Still does not work. I have Spotify enabled as my Default Music Service. Like everybody else: I say, "Play Legs by ZZ Top". Alexa replies, "OK, playing Legs by ZZ Top on Spotify". Then it doesn't play anything. I submitted Diagnostic Code: 644701571

My problem is (like many) the Echo dot says 'playing on Kitchen' (Sonos:1) and no sound comes from there. The Play5 in another room always works when told to do so. Have tried *everything * suggested, and I'm tired of two 'proper' companies (this isn't a cheap gizmo from China with some half baked App to control it) saying this works when clearly there's a serious issue with compatability. I may just by an Echo with a speaker and ditch my Sonos Play:1 I'm so p**sed by this :-(
I would not be able to recommend Sonos in future. Very sad customer.

In the Alexa App Main Settings you will also see the Beam is listed twice, one will be the room name, like ‘Dining Room' for example, that’s the speaker side of the hardware ...and the other will be called something like 'mendy's Sonos Beam' or something similar to that, this is the Alexa device part of the hardware.

You will find the Alexa App will only allow you to set your location in the settings of the Alexa part of the hardware, it won’t let you set it in the speaker part.

However please note this is NOT your Amazon Alexa Account Country Settings, you need to do those somewhere online at Amazon. If necessary I would speak to Amazon Support and get them to check your account country settings for Alexa and explain the error messages you have been seeing. They maybe able to resolve the matter for you.

You should see two devices for your Beam in the Alexa App smart-home device list ... see my screenshot. My Beam is located in the 'Dining Room' in my case. Make sure those entries aren’t duplicated in the device list and if so, remove them all and ask Alexa to rescan for devices.

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